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APEC Ministers Target Jobs, Skills and Worker Protection as AI Reshapes Work
Issued by the 8th APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial MeetingAPEC human resources development ministers are focusing on jobs, skills and social protection as artificial intelligence (AI) and aging populations reshape labor markets across the Asia-Pacific.
“A new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, exemplified by artificial intelligence, is making rapid breakthroughs, profoundly reshaping modes of production and employment patterns and exerting a deep impact on the development and utilization of human resources,” said Shen Yiqin, State Councilor of China in her opening remarks at the 8th APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting in Nanjing on Monday.
People aged 65 and older currently make up 15 percent of APEC's population, with the region's population set to shrink by 2035. At the same time, the World Economic Forum projects that 92 million jobs globally will be displaced and 170 million jobs created by 2030, driven by demographic shifts and rapid technological transformation.
As production and employment patterns shift, ministers underscored the need to better align employment and broader economic policies, so job creation keeps pace with growth. They also stressed stronger protection for workers, including those in gig, contract and other emerging forms of employment.
“We should strengthen information sharing and trend analysis, jointly reinforce employment monitoring, continuously improve policies that adapt to AI development and promote entrepreneurship,” Shen added.
Ministers highlighted AI’s potential to improve job matching, identify emerging occupations and anticipate skills demand. At the same time, they called for greater investment in reskilling and lifelong vocational training to help workers adapt as jobs change.
Skills cooperation was another focus. Ministers discussed expanding quality apprenticeships in traditional and emerging occupations, aligning training more closely with industry needs and improving recognition of occupational standards and qualifications across economies. Ministers also emphasized widening access to digital skills training, including for persons with disabilities.
In practical terms, that could mean making it easier for workers to identify where jobs are growing, gain the skills employers need and retain protection as they move between roles.
Ministers noted that keeping training aligned with changing industry needs will require closer partnerships among policymakers, businesses and education institutions to expand training opportunities and certification.
Addressing APEC ministers, Gilbert Houngbo, Director General of the International Labour Organization, urged economies to create more decent jobs, particularly for young people and women, build the skills workers need for digital and green transitions and strengthen social protection systems as a foundation for resilient economies.
Aging populations are also putting the finances of social security systems under greater pressure. Ministers called for stronger capacity to forecast the future costs and risks facing pension and social insurance programs, while making benefits easier to access through digital services.
“This is one of the most important ministerial meetings in the Asia-Pacific region. It has played a foundational role in fostering regional economic growth and improving people's livelihoods,” said Wang Xiaoping, Chair of the ministerial meeting and China’s Minister of Human Resources and Social Security.
“We aim to embrace new trends and address new challenges, thereby advancing human resources development and modernization in the Asia-Pacific and inject new momentum into building an Asia-Pacific community to prosper together,” Wang concluded.
For further details and media inquiries, please contact:
media@apec.org
APEC Human Resources Development Ministers Issue Joint Statement
Issued by the 8th APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial MeetingMinisters and officials from APEC economies issued a statement following their meeting in Nanjing on Friday to strengthen human resources development across the Asia-Pacific amid shifts in employment patterns.
The meeting, chaired by Wang Xiaoping, China’s Minister of Human Resources and Social Security, concluded with ministers emphasizing the importance of seizing new human resources development opportunities.
Ministers recognized how artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies are reshaping production and employment patterns and at the same time, rapid demographic shifts are converging and driving profound changes in human resources development.
The joint statement identified three key areas to strengthen human resources development across the region:
- Promoting high-quality, full and productive employment and employment-friendly economic growth
- Investing in people and enhancing vocational skills training
- Strengthening and optimizing social security systems for efficiency, adaptability and accountability
Read the Joint Statement of the 8th APEC Human Resources Development Ministerial Meeting
APEC, UNCTAD Bridge Regional and Global Efforts on Digital Services Trade at WTO Forum
Issued by the APEC Secretariat
Economies need better regulation, stronger digital infrastructure and closer regional cooperation to ensure more businesses and people can benefit from the rapid growth of digitally delivered services, APEC and trade officials said at the WTO Public Forum last week in Geneva.
The discussion, jointly organized by the APEC Secretariat and UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), marked the first time APEC has hosted a session at the WTO Public Forum. It brought regional and multilateral perspectives together to examine how economies can translate the growth of digital services into wider participation in global trade.
“Regulate for outcomes. What is it that the regulation seeks to achieve? That’s the prism through which we should be seeing this,” said APEC Secretariat Executive Director Eduardo Pedrosa.
Pedrosa said economies need reliable digital infrastructure alongside transparent, predictable regulatory processes that can adapt as technology and business models change. Building trust is equally important as businesses increasingly depend on cross-border data, digital payments and platforms to reach customers.
He pointed to APEC’s role as a forum where economies can test approaches, exchange experience and bring practical lessons into wider international discussions.
“In our context, what we try to do in APEC is to bring these different case studies together,” Pedrosa said. “It’s a two-way street, but we clearly have a lot of work ahead of us.”
APEC trade ministers in May welcomed a new roadmap to guide the region’s services work over the next decade, covering digital transformation, regulatory reform, workforce readiness, services data and capacity building. It also encourages pathfinder approaches and cooperation with regional and international organizations, including support for services work at the WTO.
Also read: APEC Trade Ministers Issue Joint Statement
UNCTAD Acting Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno said the expansion of services presents significant opportunities, but developing economies are not benefiting equally.
“The transformation is real, the opportunity is large, but the divide is widening,” Moreno said.
Digitally deliverable services now account for 56 percent of global services exports, according to UNCTAD's recent data, compared with 61 percent in developed economies and just 16 percent in least developed countries. Services also account for 71 percent of intermediate inputs globally, illustrating their growing role across manufacturing and other sectors.
Moreno said digital participation depends on more than connectivity, pointing to skills, finance, cross-border payments, data and the ability of economies to implement policy. He also cautioned that overlapping digital trade rules can be difficult for smaller economies to navigate.
Malaysia’s Permanent Representative to the WTO, Ambassador Sumathi Balakrishnan, said governments face the challenge of creating safeguards without making regulation unnecessarily burdensome for businesses.
“The important part is to create that flexibility and that predictability for business,” Balakrishnan said, highlighting Malaysia’s work on good regulatory practices, cybersecurity, data protection and digital governance.
Jamaica’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Richard Brown, said digitalization is opening new opportunities for smaller economies to overcome traditional constraints such as distance and market size, but domestic capacity remains critical.
“International cooperation should be judged by its ability to strengthen policy implementation, productive capacity building, and participation in digital trade for developing countries, especially the smallest and most vulnerable among them,” Brown said.
The panel, Policy to Practice, Building Digital-Ready Services Economies, was held on the margins of the WTO Public Forum 2026.
For further details and media inquiries, please contact:
media@apec.org
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This news release can also be viewed on the APEC website: https://www.apec.org/press/
